A young boy was trapped inside a convenience store when the owner accidentally locked him on his way out without noticing him in there.

In-store surveillance footage shows the owner stepping out of the shop in Qujing in Yunnan, China, at 6:15 pm on March 19.

He stood outside the entrance with his motorcycle helmet on as he lowered the roller shutter while looking out onto the street.

Meanwhile, a young boy leaving school with his backpack on apparently decided to get himself a snack on his way home and entered the shop, without realising the shutter above his head slowly coming down.

At that point, the owner had already stepped further out and did not see him enter.

The boy looked around for several seconds before suddenly discovering he was trapped in the store.

Panicked, he began shouting for help and banging his hand on the shutter.

The ruckus seemingly reached the man's ears as he had not gone too far and by 6:20, he returned and freed the schoolboy.

He sent him off with an apologetic expression on his face and carefully lowered the shutter once again to the empty shop.

The owner later stated: 'I will apologise to the child.'